lilTanker saidor why not do your civic duty with a little happiness and enjoy the process..

This.

Why is it what we expect for ourselves, we are hesitant in giving others? If I was ever called to jury duty, sure it would be an inconvenience, but if I'm ever on trial I sure as hell expect to have a jury of my peers at court.

Enjoy it!! I got summoned last spring, and I was dreading it too. I got chosen to sit on the jury and it turned out to be a great experience!! Just like being on an episode of Law and Order. I was fascinated by the whole process, right from selection to delivering the verdict. I would do it again in a heartbeat!! Very, very cool!

People are forced into jury duty for very good reasons. To make the process fair to all, the jury is supposed to represent a cross section of the community. If jury duty were voluntary the jury wouldn't be a cross section of the community. Juries would be made up of 1) bored retired people and 2) people willing to take time off from work because they have some HUGE axe to grind.If your money or your innocence were at stake you wouldn't want your fate to be in the hands of the axe-to-grind people.

I just finished three days of jury duty this week. It was my first time, and I was initially frustrated about the inconvenience of having to go, the uncertainty of the time commitment, the extra work of having to make sub plans for school (I'm a teacher).

However, I have to say that having done it, I found it to be an interesting and enlightening experience. It was a lengthy process - three whole days, not finishing deliberations until 9pm of the third day - and I can't imagine being on an even longer case. But the courthouse here has free wireless for when we were waiting to be called for selection or when we were on a lunch break. Like someone else posted above, a lot of us ended up talking and getting to know each other during the down time.

I think that if you go into it with a relatively open mind, you'll find it to be not too bad, hopefully even interesting. Granted, my case was a pretty dramatic criminal case with expert witnesses testifying about DNA evidence and strangulation, and even a collective "gasp" moment throughout the courtroom when the cornerstone argument of the defense's case crumbled. (The translator for the victim realized that the victim's original statements to the police about having "bit" his attacker were actually him saying he "beat" his attacker. Therefore the absence of the victim's DNA on the attacker's shirt sleeve was not in fact proof of the defendant's innocence.)

TexDef07 saidPeople are forced into jury duty for very good reasons. To make the process fair to all, the jury is supposed to represent a cross section of the community. If jury duty were voluntary the jury wouldn't be a cross section of the community. Juries would be made up of 1) bored retired people and 2) people willing to take time off from work because they have some HUGE axe to grind.If your money or your innocence were at stake you wouldn't want your fate to be in the hands of the axe-to-grind people.

I don't see how forcing people to be a part of something they might not want to be part of as leading to quality discernment or judgment. Would you want a jury of people who hate having to be there and might be wanting to get it over with as soon as possible deciding your fate?

I find the legal system pretty scary personally. I hope I never have to be subject to it. It seems to me it's about money and who can be manipulated the most successfully.

Anto said I don't see how forcing people to be a part of something they might not want to be part of as leading to quality discernment or judgment. Would you want a jury of people who hate having to be there and might be wanting to get it over with as soon as possible deciding your fate?

As a trial lawyer I work with juries all the time. At the beginning of the trial a panel of about 60 possible jurors comes in and the judge and both lawyers ask them questions about their opinions re issues in the trial.Almost all of them hate having to be there. But most of them understand why it's necessary. They understand that someday it might be them having their fate decided. After the trial I always talk to them about their jury service. With few exceptions they say they take their role seriously and find the experience rewarding.

As a gay male you are part of a demographic that needs to be better represented on our juries. What if you get assigned to a case involving gay-bashing or employment discrimination? You should be honored that you have a chance to give justice to someone who won't get it without someone like you sitting in judgment.

Iluros saidHow do you propose assembling a fair representation of the community to serve as a jury?

I find the idea of people deciding my fate scary in and of itself. The fact that there is concern about 'fairness' in picking only exemplifies why that fear exists, much less putting people in place who may not want to be there because they were forced to be.